UFC releases former contender Marcus Davis following UFC 125 loss

After 15 fights, four fight-night bonuses, a spot on the organization’s reality series, former welterweight title contention, and a handful of high-profile international fights, Marcus Davis (17-8 MMA, 9-6 UFC) received his UFC walking papers following a UFC 125 loss to Jeremy Stephens.

The 37-year-old will continue fighting in MMA professionally, and he’ll do so at 155 pounds with the hopes of getting back to the UFC.

Davis, fighting for the first time since a drop from welterweight to lightweight, met fellow striker Stephens on the ION Television preliminary card of the Jan. 1 UFC 125 card. Davis wobbled his opponent in the first round and was positioned for a close decision victory, but Stephens connected on a perfectly placed right hook that set up his KO win in the third round.

Davis, a former pro boxer (16-1-1) who went 13-1 from 2006 to 2009 in MMA, now has lost four of his past five fights. The other losses, though, came to notables Nate Diaz, Dan Hardy and Ben Saunders.

“He felt real strong at 155 (pounds),” Cavallaro said. “He made a mistake. The guy’s been fighting forever, and he has no plans of retiring. Between all the ‘Fight of the Night,’ ‘Knockout of the Night,’ and ‘Submission of the Night’ bonuses, he’s showed that he’s a very exciting fighter to watch. Now, it’s just a matter of figuring out the next move. We’re talking to a few people right now.”

Cavallaro said the comfortable weight cut and otherwise solid performance convinced Davis he should keep fighting.

“If he’d taken a sustained beating and didn’t look good or didn’t look sharp, maybe we’d be having a different conversation,” he said.
But he did none of those things. His weight cut was perfect. He felt healthy. Like he said, he thought he was winning that fight, and he just got caught. Jeremy Stephens is a very tough kid, and that’s what his bread and butter is. He can stop you at any time. But hats off to Jeremy. He stayed in the fight until the last second.”

Davis first joined the UFC in 2005 as a cast member on “The Ultimate Fighter 2,” but as a fairly one-dimension striker, he lost an opening-round matchup to eventual show winner Joe Stevenson. He then dropped a TKO (due to cuts) to Melvin Guillard at the show’s live finale and was released for the first time.

Davis, though, dedicated himself to the sport and specifically jiu-jitsu improvement. He won 13 of his next 14 fights, including seven via submission, which included a return to the UFC in 2006. Over the past few years, he’s been a fixture on the UFC’s international cards. Eight of his past 11 UFC fights came in overseas markets.

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